Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside. Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add eggs, oil and milk. Mix at medium speed for two minutes. Add boiling water. Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pans for five minutes. Remove to wire racks and cool completely. To make frosting, combine sugar and whipping cream in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes. Add Hershey’s unsweetened baking bar squares, Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa, and butter pieces and stir till melted and smooth. Pour in a glass bowl and add vanilla extract. Allow frosting to cool, occasionally stirring. Make chocolate triangles, by melting a bag of Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Chips in the microwave in a bowl at 30 second intervals on high. Stir till smooth. Pour chocolate in a round cake pan lined with wax paper. Sprinkle with toasted almonds. Refrigerate till hardened. Remove from pan, remove wax paper and break into wedges. Frost cake. Pat toasted sliced almonds around side of cake. Dip whole strawberries in strawberry preserves so they will stick to the frosting. Place chocolate triangles between strawberries.

Put all dry ingredients into a large bowl and beat for 20-30 seconds. Beat eggs in small bowl and then add to the dry ingredients. Next add oil, milk, and then vanilla. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Now stir in boiling water until blended. Pour into three 9” cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Allow cakes to cool in pans on wire racks for approximately 15 minutes. Take cakes out of pans and cool completely on wire racks. Make filling and frosting for cakes as directed above.

Truffle Filling:

2 cups Hershey’s Semisweet Chocolate Chips

2 teaspoons Hershey’s Cocoa

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

2/3 cup seedless red raspberry jam

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add confectioner’s sugar and raspberry preserves, beating until fluffy. Beat in melted chocolate and cocoa until well blended.

Glaze filling:

1/2 cup Hershey’s Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1 teaspoon Hershey’s Cocoa

2 tablespoons & 2 teaspoon heavy cream

Melt chocolate chips in top of a double boiler. Stir in heavy cream and cocoa

Additional ingredients for decorating the cake:
Hershey’s syrup

Chocolate frosting:

1/4 cup butter (softened)

About 2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/3 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder

2 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Mix sugar and butter. Stir in vanilla and milk. Beat until smooth.

3rd Place
Belinda Myers
South Mountain Fair –York County

Super Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

3 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 2/3 cups cake flour

1 cup buttermilk

3/4 cups Hershey’s Dark Cocoa

1/2 cup sour cream

1/3 cup Hershey’s Cocoa

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9-inch cake pans. In a large mixer bowl, place dry ingredients. Mix to combine. In a medium bowl, please eggs, buttermilk, sour cream, oil, and vanilla. Stir well with a wire wisk. Add wet mix to dry mixture and beat for 2 minutes. Add boiling water and mix well by hand. Divide batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans. Place into 350 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Peanut Butter Filling:

1/2 cup Reese’s Creamy Peanut Butter

1 cup soft butter

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 (1.5 ounce) pkg. Reese’s peanut butter cups

Beat all peanut butter filling ingredients in a small (not candy) bowl until creamy. Divide in half. One half add diced Reese’s peanut butter cups. The other half keep to decorate top.

Frosting:

1/4 cup soft butter

3/4 cup shortening

1/2 cup Hershey’s Cocoa

3 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup Reese’s creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup milk

Place all frosting ingredients in a large mixer bowl. Beat until smooth. You may need to add more milk.

To assemble, place one cake layer on a foil-covered cardboard. Spread peanut butter cup filling on top. Place second cake layer on top. Frost entire cake using remaining peanut butter filling. Place lattice strips on top. Decorate edges and top.

4th Place
Maryanne Zeigler Kern
Dillsburg Community Fair – York County

Mix on medium speed for about 1 to 2 minutes. Pour evenly into the three prepared pans. “Plop” pans on counter top, to get bubbles out. Place in oven. Bake about 30 minutes or until center is done. Remove from oven and let sit about 5 minutes. Remove from pans, by turning them upside down on wax paper to cool.

Icing/Filling:

1 8-ounce jar of Smuckers Blackberry Jam

1 stick butter (softened)

1 12-ounce pack of Hershey’s White Premier Chips

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter

2 8-ounce packs cream cheese

2 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, place the cream cheese and stick of butter and cream together. Meanwhile melt the Premier Chips in a microwave bowl, along with the tablespoon of butter for about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Add to the cheese/butter mixture in the bowl and mix until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar to the cheese mixture, along with the milk. If too thick, add a little bit more milk.

Take each cake layer and slice in half horizontally. Place one of the halves on the bottom of the cake plate and take a heaping teaspoonful of the Blackberry Jam and spread it over the exposed bottom layer. Add a heaping tablespoon full of the icing on top of the blackberry jam and spread evenly over the jam. Place the other half of cake layer on top of the icing. Repeat this process over again and again until all layers are on except let the final top clear.

With remaining icing, spread it around the top and sides of your cake layers. Garnish the top with fresh blackberries, mint leaves, or chocolate leaves. Keep in refrigerator at least one day before serving, covered. Flavor is awesome!

5th Place
Janel Flor
Kimberton Community Fair –Chester County

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cake

Cake:

3 cups sugar

2 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup sour cream

3/4 cup olive oil

3 large eggs

3 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cut hot Caramel Pecan Roll coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using dark pans). Prepare three 9-inch pans by spraying with baking spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with wax paper to keep the cake from sticking. Start the coffee brewing, and then in a large bowl sift together the dry ingredients. In a small bowl measure out the milk, sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla but do not stir. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture while stirring. Using a hand mixer blend the ingredients for 2 minutes on medium speed, occasionally scraping the bowl. Slowly add the hot coffee and mix until just blended. Pour the batter into the pans willing between 1/2 and 2/3 full. Bake for 25-32 minutes, cakes are done when toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs sticking to it. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, and then turn onto cooling racks to cool completely. When layers are cooled they can be leveled and wrapped in plastic wrap until time to frost. To help cakes bake evenly, invert a metal flower nail and spray with baking spray, then place in the bottom middle of the cake pan.

Cherry Filling:

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

10 tablespoons salted butter, softened plus 1 extra tablespoon

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups marshmallow creme

1 jar Trappist cherry preserves

Drain cherry preserves, reserve liquid. Chop cherries finely and set aside. In a large bowl place butter, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Combine water and gelatin in a small microwave-proof bowl and let sit until gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave gelatin mixture until it’s bubbling around the edges and gelatin dissolves, about 1 minute. Pour mixture into the large bowl and combine. Let mixture cool until just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes, then whisk in marshmallow creme until smooth. Add chopped cherries and mix until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm enough to spread, about an hour.

Chocolate Frosting:

2/3 cup salted butter, softened

1/3 cup shortening

1 pound powdered sugar

5-8 tablespoons half and half

3 tablespoons Hershey’s Cocoa Powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

food coloring

Cream together butter and shortening, then add 5 tablespoons of half and half and the almond and vanilla extracts, mix thoroughly. Add the Hershey’s Cocoa powder and mix again, and then add the powdered sugar. Combine slowly at first, and then turn the speed up to high until frosting is very fluffy. If necessary add more half and half to thin frosting. If desired use food coloring to tint frosting for decorating.

Chocolate Scrolls:

3 oz. Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Chips

1 tablespoon shortening

Melt chocolate and shortening in a microwave-proof bowl at 30 second intervals on half power, stirring after each stop, until completely melted. Pour onto a metal cookie sheet and spread thinly with a flat spatula. Place in freezer for a few minutes, until when touched finger leaves a slight indention. Remove from freezer and using flat edge scrape chocolate into scrolls. Scrolls should be stored in a container in the freezer until needed.

Assembly:

Alternate layering the cake and cherry filling, beginning with the cake on the bottom and ending with the cherry filling on top. Frost sides of cake with chocolate frosting and pour reserved cherry liquid on top. Decorate with chocolate frosting and chocolate scrolls.